“Will you not stay for a meal?” Shahrzad asked again. He shook his head. “I must be on my way. But I promise to visit again very soon. I shall not let so many years pass by this time. And I will cling to the hope that, when I see you next, it will be with Khalid at your side. At your side and the better for it.” A strange twinge of guilt knifed through Shahrzad’s stomach.
